More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
M78 - Casper the Friendly Ghost Nebula
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Orion, young hot stars light up the dust of M78 in blue, like lighthouses in a fog. Around it, the dark cloud LDN 1630 hides stars still being born, with jets of gas that show up in red.
| Catalogue | Messier, 1780 · NGC 2068 |
| Type | Reflection and dark nebulae |
| Distance | ≈ 1,300 light-years |
| Field | 78.3′ × 50.3′ |
| Real width | ≈ 29 × 19 light-years |
| Scale | 0.78″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −62° · north-west up |
| RA (centre) | 05h 46m 46s |
| DEC (centre) | +00° 08′ 14″ |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Objects in field | 4 NGC · HH 24 · McNeil's Nebula · LkHα 316 |
Distance of NGC 2068 (M78) measured by radio parallax with the VLBA: 388 ± 10 parsecs (Kounkel et al. 2017); a 2026 study gives 405 ± 16 parsecs and NASA quotes 1,600 light-years. The real width assumes 388 parsecs. Positions of all objects taken from SIMBAD; those of the nebulae are the catalogue centre, so approximate.
22 h 20 min of light
Each tick is a 240-second exposure. 335 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 50 darks, 50 flats and 50 bias. The Moon stayed below 85 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Sky-Watcher CQ350 Pro
ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics NEWTON Coma Corrector 1.0x (TSGPU) · ZWO EAF
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · ZWO ASIAIR
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3